Teachers in Atlanta accept donated backpacks.
Back-to-school time generates a flurry of activity at my house. It generally means buying new clothes and shoes, trying to fulfill the entire school supply list at just one store (where you’ll no doubt need to find SIX different colors of pronged folders even though they only sell FIVE), and getting back into the groove with duties on the PTA, where I serve as vice president.
We are lucky. I can afford to buy pencils and glue sticks and new sneakers for my growing kiddo. But not every parent can do that.
Some kids come to school with no backpack, no supplies, no coat in the winter. Some kids’ families can’t afford food much less pencils and folders and new shoes.
Thankfully, there are people to help when students are faced with such shortages. People like those at OneCoast and Jordan’s Furniture.
OneCoast, a nationwide sales and marketing services company that represents brands like Studio M, Votivo, Demdaco and more, collected hundreds of school supplies at summer markets in Dallas, Atlanta and Las Vegas to benefit its annual Backpacks of Hope initiative. The supplies collected are given to elementary school children who live in low-income households in those three communities.
Donations pile up at OneCoast’s showroom at Dallas Market Center.
OneCoast employees, vendor partners and retailers as well as International Market Centers and Dallas Market Center, helped make the start of the school year a positive one for students by fulfilling simple needs such as backpacks, pencils, notebooks and crayons.
Backpacks of Hope donations have been collected in OneCoast showrooms since 2016, and this year’s haul benefited students at Nathan Adams Elementary in Dallas, Ethel W. Kight Elementary in LaGrange, Ga., and Wendell P. Williams Elementary in Las Vegas.
Candace McGhee, principal of Kight Elementary School near Atlanta, said the program is a huge boost to her students. “Students who attended the annual Back-to-School Bash can stand taller because of the generous donation of bookbags and supplies from the employees of OneCoast. We were able to distribute over 100 backpacks filled with school supplies to students from pre-K through fifth grade. We are extremely grateful for the partnership of OneCoast. Thanks for being a major supporter of this annual event!”
The program has become part of the culture of giving back at OneCoast.
School supplies galore
“We often say at OneCoast that we want to ‘do good business and do good things,’” said CEO John Keiser. “I am very proud that the employees of OneCoast have supported the Backpacks of Hope efforts over the past three years. To think that we can make the educational experience better for so many children is extremely gratifying. And it is definitely an initiative we will continue to do in the years to come.”
In New England, another initiative has a similar goal. The Cradles to Crayons’ Ready to Learn program provides low-income and homeless children in Massachusetts with the essential supplies and clothing needed to start the school year ready to learn. Jordan’s Furniture, which has six stores across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island, has partnered with the program for eight years.
Through July and August, Jordan’s stores (and the company’s distribution center), collected clothing, jackets, pajamas, shoes and more to give children in need. Nearly 20,000 children have been helped since the partnership began.
“We are so proud to continue our partnership with Cradles to Crayons,” said Eliot Tatelman, Jordan’s president. “I remember my first days of school and all of the memories of each one. It is so important for every child to feel worthy. Through the generosity of our wonderful customers, we know that our donation drives have made an impact.”
Children shouldn’t have to worry about having shoes that fit or pencils and paper. More important subjects, like math, science and reading, should fill their heads.
Thanks to helpers like OneCoast and Jordan’s, more kids can now just focus on the important things.
Tell me what you’re doing to help others. Email jburton@homeaccentstoday.com.
Jennifer Burton is the managing editor of Home Accents Today, where she does a little writing, a lot of editing and much of the organizing to keep everything running smoothly. With more than 18 years of copy editing experience, Jennifer has conquered deadlines at daily newspapers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Connecticut and edited magazines mailed to millions of homes. A native of Hickory, N.C., she graduated from Winthrop University with a degree in journalism. When she’s not fixing typos or crafting headlines, she’s probably practicing her rowing stroke or flying somewhere for a $100 hamburger with her pilot husband and young son.
